Samsung BRIX modular multimedia phone concept

Samsung Art and Design held the mobile device prototype exhibition resuming its design courses. Samsung BRIX turned to be one of most impressive solutions. This is a modular full touchscreen multimedia mobile phone.

The idea of the concept is that it consists of brick modules. Thus you can always add an additional brick to enhance the functionality. For example, you can add more bricks, when you need a bigger screen or a camera. Samsung Bricks is currently just a concept, however the company has been exploring similar ideas and has a patent to prove it.

MiTAC Mio A502 Digi-Walker – a GPS-enabled communicator

Mio technology has unveiled a new Digi-Walker communicator – MiTAC Mio a502. It is running on Windows Mobile 6 Professional and features navigation capabilities: a built-in 20-channel GPS receiver on SiRF Star III chip. The release is set for this November.

The specs of MiTAC Mio A502 Digi-Walker:

• Networks - GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• OS - Windows Mobile 6 Professional
• CPU - Texas Instruments OMAP 850 200 MHz
• 1024 MB ROM
• 64 MB RAM
• SD/MMC cards
• Display – 2.7” touchscreen (240x320 pixels, 262K colors)
• 2.5-mm audio jack
• USB 2.0
• Bluetooth 2.0
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
• Built-in 20-channel GPS-receiver SiRF Star III
• Camera – 1.9-megapixel CMOS with auto focus and LED flash
• Battery – Li-Ion 1050 mAh
• Dimensions – 95.7x59.6x20.7 mm
• Weight - 135 g

Nokia N95 8GB debuted

Nokia has reported world shipments of its N95 8GB smartphone. The official announcement took place late in August. Compared to the original N95 the new one kept the same specs: a 5-megapixel with Carl Zeiss lens, a frontal camera, GPS/A-GPS, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, 3G networks with HSDPA. The N95 8GB is packed in a black shell and equipped with a 2.8” QVGA display. With an 8GB of memory the user cam enjoy up to 20 hours of video or 6000 music tracks. The smartphone supports Nokia Music Store and N-Gage Games.

Nokia N95 8GB has become commercially available at €560 (excl. taxes and discounts).

Samsung SGH-E848: Gold for the Olympic Games 2008

Samsung Electronics has confirmed the official Olympic partner status and announced Samsung SGH-E848 Golden Olympic Edition. The device is plated with 18-carat gold and carries the Olympic Games 2008 logo. This is a slider featuring functionality of an up-to-date handset. It will hit the stores from the opening of the Summer Olympic Games in Peking.

The specs of Samsung SGh-E848 Golden Olympic Edition:

• Networks - GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• Display – 2.2” (240x320 pixels, 262K colors)
• Camera - 2-megapixel 4x digital zoom
• 70 MB of internal memory
• microSD-slot
• NetFront 3.4 browser
• Audio - MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA
• Video - H.263, MPEG4
• Interface - Bluetooth 2.0 (A2DP), USB 2.0
• Talk time – up to 5 hours
• Standby time – up to 250 hours
• Dimensions – 101.5x52.5x10.6 mm
• Weight - 99 g

LG Rumor with QWERTY-keyboard

LG has announced a mobile phone called Rumor. It will come out in the US from Sprint on November 4. The device costs $79.99. Taking into account its name and design (in addition to the numeric keyboard a QWERTY one) the new phone is meant for those who are keen on SMS messaging. LG Rumor is available on Black Blue and Silver color solutions.

The specs of LG Rumor:

• Networks - CDMA 1xRTT
• Display – 176x220 pixels
• Camera – 1.3-megapixel with 2x digital zoom
• MP3-player
• Bluetooth interface
• microSD-slot (up to 4 GB)
• Li-Pol battery
• Talk time – up to 4.5 hours
• Dimensions – 109.2x50.8x17.8 mm
• Weight - 117 g

Motorola RAZR V8 Luxury edition

Motorola has announced a special edition of its RAZR V8. By the Christmas holidays we’ll see models coated with expensive materials. The elite clamshells will be released in limited edition. The black sleek shell comes with 18-carat and 24-cater gold, the rear cover has a snake-like texture. The top cover features laser engraving. The Luxury Edition handsets are supplied with Motorola H680 Bluetooth-headset, also with gold elements. The shipments of the RAZR V8 Luxury Edition in several regions are set for 4Q.

The specs of the RAZR V8:

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
• External display – 2” (240x320 pixels, 262K colors)
• Internal display – 2.2” (240x320 pixels, 262K colors)
• 2-megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom
• Built-in music player
• Interface - Bluetooth, USB 2.0
• 2 GB of internal memory
• Opera Mobile 8.5 browser
• Dimensions – 103x53x12.05 mm
• Talk time - 250-450 minutes
• Standby time - 200-300 hours

i-mate JAMA 201: a low-end QWERTY-smartphone

i-mate is about to release another JAMA model. Unlike other products of the lineup the JAMA 201 is a smartphone, not a communicator. It features a touchscreen display, Windows Mobile 6 Standard OS and a QWERTY-keyboard. The new smartphone belongs to the low-end class and has similar specs to its predecessors.

The specs of i-mate JAMA 201:

• Networks - GSM/GPRS/EDGE 900/1800/1900 MHz
• OS - Windows Mobile 6 Standard
• CPU - Samsung 300 MHz
• Display – 2.5” VGA (much for a low-end phone, but the site states the VGA), 65K colors
• 128 MB ROM and 64 MB RAM
• MicroSD-slot
• Camera - 2-megapixel 4x digital zoom, auto focus and flash
• Interface - Bluetooth, USB
• Li-Ion 1100 mAh battery
• Talk time – up to 4 hours
• Standby time – up to 150 hours
• Dimensions – 113x63x14 mm
• Weight - 152 g

Official announcement of MOTO U9 music phone

Motorola has announced MOTO U9 music phone. Speculated details had already popped up in the news. On the whole the official announcement confirmed this info. MOTO U9 is a stylish clamshell in a sleek form. It has an external display with touch-sensitive media player buttons in it. The phone is designed for GSM networks. MOTO U9 will hit the stores in 4Q in Asia, Latin America and Europe.

The specs of MOTO U9:

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (Class 12)
• External display – 1.45” OLED (128x160 pixels, 65K colors)
• Internal display – 2” TFT (QVGA, 262K colors)
• Built-in music player WMA (Janus DRM), MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+
• Video formats - MPEG4 3GPP, h.263
• Interface - Bluetooth (A2DP), USB 2.0
• 25 MB of internal memory
• microSD-slot
• 2-megapixel camera
• Talk time – up to 430 minutes
• Standby time – up to 350 hours
• Dimensions – 90x48.6x16.4 mm
• Weight – 87.5 g

Samsung SPH-P9200: another UMPC

We’ve got our hands on new details about an ultra mobile PC Samsung SPH-P9200. This is an heir of Samsung SPH-P9000 released this spring on the Korean market. It is packed in a clamshell form with the QWERTY-keyboard, which can also fold up. The vendor hasn’t yet officially confirmed the specs of Samsung SPH-P9200. Besides there is no info on the release date and the price.

The specs of Samsung SPH-P9200:

• CPU - Via C7-M
• OS - Windows XP Home edition
• Display – 5” 800x480 pixels
• 512 MB RAM
• HDD – 30 GB
• Connectivity - Wi-Fi, Wibro and HSDPA
• Camera – 1.3-megapixel
• Slot for SIM
• 2 USB-ports, LAN, VGA
• Offline time on the standard battery - 2-2.5 hours
• Offline time on the enhanced battery – up to 5 hours

Sony Ericsson W910i and K850i launched

Sony Ericsson has announced sales of its two handsets: the W910i of the Walkman series and the K850i of the Cyber-shot series. The shipments will start during this month. I’d remind you that both devices were unveiled on June 14.

Sony Ericsson W910i is a compact and lightweight slider featuring a QVGA-slider, a 2-megapixel camera, a frontal camera for video calls, an FM-radio with RDS and Bluetooth A2DP. Sony Ericsson K850i is a candy bar with a QVGA display, a 5-megapixel camera with auto focus, image stabilizer and xenon flash, an FM-radio and Bluetooth support. Both handsets can work in GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSDPA.